The company acquired the 100,000 square foot plant on 17 acres in 2017, said a news release from M.H. Eby Inc.

The company is using the facility to build all-aluminum trailers and truck bodies.

“We are pleased to have this new plant up and running several months ahead of schedule,” company president Travis Eby said in the news release. “Our initial plans called for production to begin in the summer of 2018. With the help of Ephrata township personnel, a lot of hard work by our employees, and a terrific effort by key suppliers, we were able to take months off the initial schedule.”

Established in 1938, Eby will continue operating its two other plants in Lancaster County, Pa., as most of its manufacturing operations are moved to the new facility. The company also plans a new corporate office for the Ephrata site.

“The first products off the line in Ephrata will be specialized truck bodies manufactured in partnership with a major fleet management company for a large U.S. client,” the release said.

Those trucks were to begin shipping in late March 2018.

Eby also invested in state-of-the-art fabrication equipment at the new plant. That includes a new laser-punch combo, a robotic bending cell, and an additional four-axis mill “to expand our fabrication capacity,” said Gary Musselman, head of Pennsylvania manufacturing operations. “The technology really accelerates our strategy of producing a wide variety of highly-customized equipment.”